Mamata Banerjee deviated from her practice of taking a break from politics during the festive season and lashed out on Thursday at the Narendra Modi government after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided senior minister Jyotipriya Mullick’s residence on Dwadoshi.
The Bengal chief minister, who gives politics a pause between Mahalaya and Bhai Phonta or Jagaddhatri Puja every year, warned the BJP and the ED with FIRs if anything happened to Mullick — who has been ailing for some time — on account of such “harassment”.
“I am addressing the press now as all limits have been surpassed,” Mamata said on Thursday afternoon, hours after the ED began the raids as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in the state’s public distribution system.
Mullick, now the forest minister, was earlier food and supplies minister.
“All the ministers and leaders are busy with the carnivals…. Bengal remains in festive spirit. Yet, when people went to greet Balu (Mullick) for Bijoya this morning, they discovered that the ED was conducting a raid at his residence,” the chief minister said.
This was Mamata’s first media conference since her return from the Spain-UAE trip on September 23. She has been confined to her residence on medical advice since September 24, when she underwent a check-up at SSKM Hospital following an injury to her leg, and has only made a few virtual public appearances for Puja-related programmes.
The media briefing on Thursday was held only to condemn the ED raids, which come within weeks of similar raids on the residences of current food and supplies minister Rathin Ghosh and urban development minister Firhad Hakim.
Mamata also accused the central agencies of harassing those close to her and their families and cited the example of her brother and Abhishek’s father, Amit Banerjee, being asked for information on his son dating back to 1981-82, when Abhishek was not even born.
“If they (central agencies) now conduct raids on the houses of all our ministers, then what is left of the (state) government? If the BJP thinks that they can suppress all (Opposition) leaders through such means, they are merely inviting a rather unpleasant retaliation in their dirty game…. They are pathological liars,” Mamata said.
“The Supreme Court has also said that the agencies cannot behave in this manner without proper evidence. Every morning, you are raiding the residences of ministers and leaders.... Not only here but everywhere in the country,” she added.
Mamata demanded to know if the central agencies had ever raided a BJP leader accused of corruption.
“Some of their leaders, during their visits abroad, portray that they love everyone and believe in ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. However, across the country, they adhere to ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Satyanash’ instead,” she said.
“Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” is a slogan Prime Minister Narendra Modi often uses.
The Trinamul Congress chief said all of this was being done by the saffron regime with the objective of unsettling the anti-BJP forces in the run-up to crucial elections over the next few months.
She expressed solidarity with the Congress’s Ashok Gehlot, her Rajasthan counterpart who is seeking re-election this year.
“Ashok Gehlot is not from my party but why will they raid his son’s house just at the time of the elections? Do you want to raid everybody’s house before the elections?” she asked.
“We don’t have any problem with you fighting against us politically, but don’t be pathological liars and practise vindictive politics,” she added. “I will request the Prime Minister to please ensure that cooperative federalism is maintained.”
The BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari said Mamata had all but gone into retirement, letting nephew and heir apparent Abhishek seize the reins, but made public appearances in defence of “thieves” whenever some action against them appeared imminent.
“The people do not want to see any more raids, they want to see arrests,” said Adhikari, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
CPM state secretary Md Salim said the system had become rotten to the core under Trinamul rule.
